Campus Dining Celebrates Earth Week!
GO TRAYLESS ALL WEEK!  TRAY'S ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST!
Click HERE to learn more about the impact for going trayless!  

April 20:  Find out what your ecological footprint is at Bartlett from 4:45pm -8pm.  Measure your ECO footprint now.
April 21:  Weigh-the-waste-day at Bartlett, Burton Judson, and Pierce!
April 22:  Celebrate Earth Day during our Earth Day Harvest meal in Bartlett, Burton Judson, and Pierce during dinner!
April 23:  Come to Bartlett from 12pm - 3pm and decorate a paper grocery bag for your local grocer to supply to shoppers.
April 24:  Dim the lights day at all Campus Dining locations!
April 25:  Make your Earth Day pledge in Reynolds club from 12pm - 3pm.
Cell phone, battery, and toner cartridge collection boxes are available all week at all Campus Dining locations!

Sustainable Practices:
Composting
Food waste is composted at all residential locations including Bartlett, Burton-Judson, and Pierce.   Over the course of one academic year, approximately 72 tons of organic waste is composted. 

What items can be composted?
Leave the following items ON YOUR TRAY for composting:
Bartlett:
All left over food
100% recyclable napkins
NEW beverage cups

Pierce:
All left over food
100% recyclable napkins
Hot beverage paper cups
Stir Sticks
Paper ice cream bowls

Burton Judson:
All left over food
100% recyclable napkins
Hot beverage paper cups
Stir Sticks
Paper ice cream bowls

What are some advantages to composting?

       Composting provides a way not only for reducing the amount of waste that needs to be disposed of, but also of converting it into a product that is useful for gardening, landscaping, or house plants.

       Diverts organic materials from landfills, which reduces methane gas and leachate and the corresponding impacts on global warming and water pollution. 

The Composting Process

       Staff separates  pre-consumer  and post-consumer food waste from garbage in the dining halls. 

       The toters are collected by the Recycling Center staff and processed for composting . 

      The food waste is mixed with a bulking agent (normally wood chips) and is formed into long piles or "windrows" where air can circulate and aid in the decomposition process. 

      After the food waste has decomposed, the finished compost is tested to assess its potential as fertilizer or soil amendment.

Local Purchasing Note:  Using local vendors are an important sustainability initiative because it requires the use of less fuel to deliver the food to campus. The following items are purchased locally: Produce:  Bareman's Milk, MI Apples (when available) Baked Goods:  Breads More to come as we continue our local purchasing study!

WasteWise Award ARAMARK Recognized by Environmental Protection Agency as the WasteWise Endorser of the year!

Visit http://envirocenter.uchicago.edu/gci/ for other great "green initiatives" happening at the University of Chicago.